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Friday, 21 November 2014

International Day for Elimination of Violence against Women

International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women is observed on November 25th because of a horrific historical event. On this day in 1960, three sisters were brutally killed in the Dominican Republic. The Mirabal sisters were political activists. They campaigned against Rafael Trujillo's dictatorship. Their brutal execution triggered the anti-Trujillo movement and within a year the Trujillo dicatorship came to an end. The sisters were referred to as the "Unforgettable Butterflies" and they have become a symbol against victimization of women.

To raise awareness and trigger action to end the global scourge of violence against women and girls, the UN proposes 16 Days of Activism against gender Violence. Enter the UN website and choose among the many proposals the ones you find the most suitable for your students.

A good way of starting could be this quiz to test your students' knowledge on this issue.

"In the words of" is also a very interesting reading proposal because it features first-person articles written by celebrities, well-known personalities and women's wights activists.

Last but not least, I reckon that boys could benefit from knowing about the heforshe campaign that was born to underline the role of so many men who in recent years have started to stand up in addressing inequalities and discrimination faced by women. Emma Watson's speech at the UN Headquarters can be an excellent resource to raise awareness of the need for boys and men's collaboration to fight gender inequality:

Finally, if you want a ready-to-use lesson plan that helps you to work on language while developing this topic, do not miss the proposal taken from a great website with many lesson plans. I have downloaded it for you so you can access it from here.

I hope that the ideas I have laid out above enable all of us to make our students reflect upon the causes and consequences of gender inequality and, above all, teach them to respect the value of gender equality so that they are able to know a different reality in a near future.